DESIGN PROPOSAL
Regulating Systems: Three overlapping and intersecting grids are utilized to describe the relationship between the site itself and its periphery. The traditional grid extends across the whole map in 50’x50’ sections referencing the site. A more concentrated 10’x10’ grid defines the boundaries of the site. The circular grid shows the relationship and orientation between elements on the periphery that directly affect the site.
Field Condition Types: A gradient is used to describe the topography of the site with its lightest point being the highest and the darkest being the lowest. Color is also included to differentiate between softscape and hardscape.
Spatial Envelope: Buildings are defined through figure-ground. Black poché is used to articulate the path and its network between interior and exterior spaces. Stairs on either side of the site utilize a hierarchy of grayscale tones to denote a change in elevation.
Spatial Contents: The dendritic patterns of native plants on site are overlaid to show the variation of vertical permeability of trees in the natural area. The section further focuses on the scale of visual permeability by portraying it graphically using lines and points. Trees are also abstractly defined on-site as white x’s to show their vertical relationship with the surrounding buildings.
The space-form mapping of the Noonan Courtyard explores the relationship between softscape and hardscape in the site through the use of an underlying gradient which shows the natural change in topography and plant density. To contrast this, hardscape is portrayed as black and white poché allowing the readily accessible paths to come to the foreground and show a network connecting the natural and cultural spaces. Visual permeability is also explored through the use of a graphical section to show the meshing of the two regions on a vertical plane.
Place: An averaging of photos of the site taken from the Binary Bridge shows the essence of the site and the movement through it. It also sets a visual context for the more abstracted layers.
Space: Buildings are defined as a container for events while the site is split into a 6-parcel grid with each section showing an interaction or event that might take place there. A cultural gradient is applied to differentiate more social spaces and more quiet spaces.
Occasion: 5 variations in path and color are used to describe movement through the space, showing flow of traffic during a number of events taking place in the site. Color is used to show specific events while greyscale is used for routine events. Path type is used to differentiate groups of people by event: passers-by, computer science, and building construction.
Drawing inspiration from the works of Aldo Van Eyck and his experimentation with the relationships between space + time and place + occasion, this subjective mapping of Noonan Courtyard describes the fluctuation of movement through the site as it relates to routine and discrete events. Movement is further separated into three colors and path types (binary, grid, and dashed) to show interactions between Computer Science students and faculty,
Building Construction, and passers-by. A temporal lens is also applied to the paths to show the amount of time spent at a given location. Finally, parcels in the softscape are used to speculate possible events taking place in the site showing a similar gradient to that of the space-form system.